UBS WARBURG CUP

November 17, 2001

Arnold Palmer

Gary Player

ARNOLD PALMER: Palmer.

GARY PLAYER: Well, I guess we have to play against each other.

GARY PLAYER: Aoki.

ARNOLD PALMER: Okay. Scott Hoch.

ARNOLD PALMER: Loren Roberts.

GARY PLAYER: Des Smyth.

GARY PLAYER: Bernhard Langer.

ARNOLD PALMER: Hale Irwin. Oh, you guys stop it. (Laughter.)

ARNOLD PALMER: Tom Watson.

GARY PLAYER: Nick Faldo.

GARY PLAYER: Ian Woosnam. Can I change that, being as Arnold has not answered yet?

GARY PLAYER: Sam Torrance.

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, it would be odd if it I didn't say Curtis Strange. (Laughter.)

GARY PLAYER: The two captains playing each other.

ARNOLD PALMER: Okay. Mark O'Meara.

GARY PLAYER: Stewart Ginn.

GARY PLAYER: Jose Canizares.

ARNOLD PALMER: John Cook.

ARNOLD PALMER: What time is that?

ARNOLD PALMER: Dana Quigley.

GARY PLAYER: Denis Durnian.

GARY PLAYER: Ian Stanley.

ARNOLD PALMER: Raymond Floyd.

ARNOLD PALMER: Mark Calcavecchia.

GARY PLAYER: Ian Woosnam.

GARY PLAYER: What time is the first match tomorrow?

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, there isn't much you can say. Those last two holes are formidable holes. You really have to hit good shots into both of them. It made a hell of a difference if we would have held those two matches. You know, there isn't much I can say. Better today than tomorrow, how's that?

GARY PLAYER: Yes, I think it was a big bonus for us. I looked up at the board towards the end and all I saw was red, and it was not looking very good. I think our guys really put in a spurt. I'm very proud of what they did. But, there's a long way to go, as you all know. So it's turning into, the most important thing, for our sponsors, that it's turning into a really good event.

ARNOLD PALMER: I'm not sure what you're asking me about Larry Nelson.

ARNOLD PALMER: No. There was no strategy to that. None whatsoever. It's nice to have a strong player in that position, but that wasn't a particular strategy that I was working on. What can I say? We've got a lot of good matches. Just, I suppose a lot of it is right in the middle of it as far as what could happen. Gary is beating me like a drum every day, and we've got some pretty classic pairings. So I think that will -- it will be good. It will be a good game tomorrow.

GARY PLAYER: Well, I think the spirit has been excellent. And I hope that the Ryder Cup will change, and for the better, and have a decent spirit for a change because it's certainly not been an example for young golfers who are going to be professionals one day to see what's been happening. On one of the most important venues and event of the entire year, it's not been a good example for young people to see what's happened. I feel very good about this. I think this has been, I mean, playing with Dana and Arnold today, it was fantastic. I'm sure the other matches were, as well. That's the feeling I've got from all of my team.

GARY PLAYER: Tomorrow? Well, I think it's going to be terrific seeing Langer playing Irwin. You know, this is a public's dream, a sponsor's dream, Irwin playing Langer and the two captains of the Ryder Cup playing each other. I think that's excellent. Those two, particularly, are outstanding.

ARNOLD PALMER: Well, I agree with Gary. I think the Irwin/Langer is a very good pairing. I think the Strange/Torrance is a good pairing. I also think that the -- even though Watson is a bit older, Watson/Faldo is a pretty good go.

GARY PLAYER: Well, I think that Arnold and I both -- it's just a natural, really. It's just a natural for us as captains to feel that I we have an obligation to the sponsor, the public. I think the public, you know, when you saw the whole world with Arnold and Langer playing --

ARNOLD PALMER: We won't just say it was prearranged. Let's just say it was arranged. (Laughs.)

GARY PLAYER: I think it's fabulous the way it's worked out.

GARY PLAYER: Personally, I never thought of that. I never thought of it because they are all pretty -- well they are not close in age, but you do have seniors. But you also have guys who really, how would you put it, in the twilight of their careers on the regular tour. Some of them, but not all of them. Once you get to 45, you are in the twilight of your career on the regular tour and you are just getting ready to join the Senior Tour. But I went strictly by instinct, what I felt.

ARNOLD PALMER: I agree. I had no thoughts of ages. I did not let that enter into any of the pairings, except that Gary is so much older than I am. (Laughter.)

GARY PLAYER: You'll be able to retire saying that you are the only man to play the oldest man in the Warburg Cup, and I'll be playing the second oldest because a lot of these guys won't be playing at our age, I can tell you. Maybe they won't have the desire, who knows. (Laughter.) Mind you, the Senior Tour will probably be so big then that they will probably go on until they are 80. Thank goodness for the Super Super Seniors; all you've got to do is not fall out of the cart and you'll make $10,000. (Laughter.)

ARNOLD PALMER: Matter of fact, if I were you, I would not even be mentioning people play to what age, since this is all a myth. And if you don't know what the myth is, you're really on in South Africa on your horse farm. I don't know how you got here.

GARY PLAYER: What age did you say you were going to retire.

ARNOLD PALMER: I never said I'm going to retire at any age and I'm not going to. So all of that bullshit you gave us about you were going to retire when you were 35 to the farm in South Africa and ride horses, what happened to that?

GARY PLAYER: Well, only thing is I can say, you were right. (Laughter.) Jack Nicklaus and I used to say, "We won the Grand Slam before 30 years of age," we said, "well, we've realized all our ambitions." And we said, "Arnold, you're just going to keep playing, aren't you?" And you said, "Yes, I am." And we said, "Well, we'll be retiring at 35." He's like an old nag. Every year at the dinner at Augusta, he says, "Gary Jack, what are you both doing here? You're both 66 and 61; so 35 from 66 is 31 years ago you were going to retire." And he's right. But, you know, it says in the Bible, in the Book of Proverbs: "It's better to live on the roof of a house than inside of the house with a nagging wife." (Laughter.)